


Go The Distance

by LionessRinoaVIII



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Disc Two, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends With Benefits, Minor Rinoa Heartilly/Squall Leonhart, Missile Base, POV First Person, Post D-District Prison, Teen Romance, Teenage Parents, The Successor Challenge, Triple Triad, Two Shot, Unplanned Pregnancy, Wine, Zell Dincht Being Zell Dincht
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:48:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LionessRinoaVIII/pseuds/LionessRinoaVIII
Summary: Another submission for the Sixth Annual Successor Challenge. Zell is freaking out after the events at the D-District Prison and the explosion at the missile base. Garden is about to crash into FH, and all Zell can think about is that the love of his life, Quistis Trepe, was pregnant with his child when Squall sent her to die, and per her privacy, Zell hadn't uttered a goddamn word. Zell's POV and Quistis's POV.
Relationships: Zell Dincht/Quistis Trepe
Kudos: 4





	1. Zell's POV

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xadrea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xadrea/gifts).



The small single room dorm seemed smaller than it ever had been as the walls closed in around me. What the hell was I doin’? This was excruciating. The T-board that I wasn’t even supposed to still have was flung lazily in the floor, half under my bed, and the punching bag in the corner of my room scowled at me, like it was darin’ me to come at it. I couldn’t eat, how was I supposed to even train?

I glanced at myself in the small mirror that was hung above my armoire, and I frowned as I grabbed for the bottle of gel I kept up top near a few boxes of sneakers. I slicked the front of my bangs up into their usual spike, and I swore under my breath at the sight of the purple bags that were drooping beneath my usually bright eyes. Bright sure wasn’t what I’d call ‘em that day. Or that entire week, for that matter. I had done a lot of stupid things growing up in Balamb, but of all the bone headed ideas, this had to have been the worst.

I knew, as an underclassman, there were certain things that were meant to be off limits. T-boards, for example, were  _ supposed  _ to be off limits. I was a pretty straight-laced kid, for the most part, but I didn’t see any harm in breaking rules that didn’t hurt or endanger anyone. Not being allowed to date my teachers? That was one that I definitely intended to adhere to. Failure to do so was messy and inappropriate and depending on the age of the instructor, absolutely disgusting. No one was runnin’ around trying to bone Professor Aki.

But what did I do the moment a certain young instructor batted her long eyelashes at me? I was disgusted with myself, but not with my feelings. Love was a positive emotion, right? Thing was, what happened with Quistis and I had come on suddenly, it blind sided us both, and that kind of passion left us vulnerable. We weren’t thinkin’, weren’t bein’ careful. One thing had led to another and…now we had two pink lines to worry about. That wasn’t the worst of it, though, not by a long shot.

Quistis and I had sort of bonded after the SeeD exam mission in Dollet. Before that? Our relationship was…more physical than it was emotional. It was hard to get too attached when she was in a position where I could potentially get her in trouble. But Quistis was having a hard time with havin’ been fired from her position as an instructor, and Squall had done nothin’ but rub salt in the wounds when she had attempted to open up to him. That shouldn’t have surprised her, sure didn’t surprise me. I liked Squall a lot, but as far as him offerin’ up compassion? Not somethin’ I had really seen yet.

She had thrown herself into Triple Triad for a while, to keep her mind off it, and I was always willin’ to lend an ear, and play a few rounds. Quistis was hurting and I had the emotional depth that she needed from Squall and couldn’t find. It was really no shock that feelings had started to blossom, especially now that we weren’t afraid to be together since her position as a teacher had been dissolved. Quistis was gorgeous, and I was finding her heart to be far more beautiful than any of the good looks Seifer was always doggin’ her about.

Then the assassination attempt went…awry, for lack of a better term. Quisis had messed up big time goin’ back to apologize to Rinoa, and I sympathized with her drive to do so. Quistis had a gentle heart under that taciturn outer exterior she sometimes wore, and there was a kindness to her that you didn’t often find in SeeD. I liked that. We had just found out that I’d accidentally gotten her pregnant when the mission in Timber had really kicked off, and I’d asked her to stay put. If it hadn’t been for Seifer’s moronic scheme she wouldn’t have ended up being roped into that job to begin with. She  _ should _ have been safe within Garden’s steel walls. The romantic aspect of our relationship was new, and we didn’t even know yet if we would keep this baby…but even still, I’d wanted her safe. And now?

Tears pricked my eyes, and I hated myself for my own silence. Quistis had been so adamant that she didn’t want people to know, and I respected that. I kept my mouth shut when Squall suggested that she head off with Selphie and Irvine to the missile base…and now my girlfriend  _ and  _ our unborn child were likely gone. The missile base had exploded, there was no way they had had time to make it out of there alive. It wasn’t until we had gotten the news that it had really hit me. We had been sleeping together  _ maybe  _ eight months, but I was in love with her, and I…I wanted to keep our baby. I guessed it didn’t matter now what I wanted. They were dead, and it was all my fault.

“DAMN IT!” I kicked my bed so hard I heard the boards split, and I grabbed for the bottle of vodka I’d been hiding between my mattress and the wall. I guess that was another rule I was breaking, but I didn’t give a shit anymore. Garden could kick me out if they wanted. It was what I deserved. Ma and Pa would have been so disappointed in me if they knew. I took a long swig of the bitter alcohol and glanced at my clock. 13:00. I thought I should probably eat something, but Hyne knew the hot dogs were already gone an hour passed noon.

Squall had been in a ball of depression since we had forced his hand to make the decision to send them out there, and I didn’t blame ‘em, so I knew better than to bother him with my own heartache. In spite of the obvious feelings for her that he was oblivious to, his sour mood was keeping him distant from Rinoa, and I knew that as an outsider she must have been really lonely. So, she was the first person I called when I decided I needed distance from my burgeoning insanity. Rinoa liked to spend her time in the library, so I knew that was where I’d find her.

“Hey Rin.” I called out, runnin’ up to her while she was having an animated conversation with one of the many girls who helped run the library. “Come with me. I’m lonely…and you’re lonelier…so…whaddaya say?

Rinoa squinted at me and put her hands on her hips before leaning forward with a playful smirk. “I happen to be having an excellent time here with…” She looked like she couldn’t remember the girls name and she shrugged her shoulders. “…Caroline.” I was pretty sure the library girl’s name was Charlotte, but she was too polite to correct her.

“Sure, sure. But listen, I need a distraction. Walk with me. Please?”

I knew Rinoa could tell something was wrong. Her eyebrows knit together slightly, and she nodded, offering me a reassuring smile. I really liked Rinoa, I hoped Squall could get that stick outta his ass and finally ask her out. I could see the two of us being pretty good friends if she stuck around. “What did you have in mind?”

The Jack of the Card Club and I were okay- ish friends, or rather, acquaintances. When  Quistis and I were spending our late nights together over cards, we often played other members of the club when we were tired of beatin’ one another in circles. Sometimes we would even do a couple’s match with the Princess Diamonds. Jack was by far the friendliest of the group, I thought, though, and I figured maybe teachin’ Rinoa a little about cards would take my mind off things. 

I was wrong. I was maybe two seconds into explaining the rules to Rinoa when my mind drifted to the night things had really begun to get serious between  Quistis and I. She was getting a little rounder in the middle, but I just thought it was the hot dogs,  y’know ,  Quisty and I had been spending a lot of time together since we had sort of fallen into  this weird friends with benefits relationship. I knew better than to poke fun at her newfound pudge, but she was complaining about it dramatically as she lay on the shag carpet of the floor in my dorm. 

“Why would you fuck me? Look at this!” Completely unaware of the child nestled within her, she rolled up her tiny belly and squeezed at it. “It looks like a mouth when I squish it.” 

I rolled my eyes and hid my laughter behind the oversized Bite Bug Cola I was downing. “ Quistis , everyone’s stomach rolls when you squish it.”  Clearly I was missing the point, and she frowned at me as she rolled just beyond my grasp. I had been playing with her soft blonde hair and I pouted as I sat my beverage down and grabbed for her butt. “Aw, come here baby.” I wanted to ravage her, but she didn’t seem to be in the mood. 

“I don’t want to.” She said with a small sigh. I immediately took my hands off her and sat cross-legged on the floor beside her. I lay the back of my hand across her forehead to check for a fever. She was cool as a cucumber. 

“Okay, we can do something else. You feeling alright? You’ve been asking for it three times a week lately. Did I upset you?”

Quistis snorted. “No, I just feel...different. I don’t...” She looked down at her hands for a moment and picked at her cuticles like she was nervous. I petted her hair back and rubbed her back. I didn’t ever want her to feel nervous or uncomfortable around me. “I don’t want it all to be sex, anymore.” 

My eyebrows shot up, and I felt my breath hitch in the back of my throat. That was amazing news if it meant what I thought it did, but I didn’t dare hope for it.  Quistis was so far out of my league that it wasn’t funny. I was lucky to be in her presence at all. “I uh...do you  wanna ...would you like to...” My throat felt like it was going to close and I couldn’t make myself say it.  _ Quistis _ __ _ Trepe _ _ , would you be my girlfriend?  _

“I would love to have some wine, yes, thank you.” That hadn’t been anything close to what I meant, but I was happy to refill her glass nonetheless. “Let’s play Triple Triad, we’ll make a drinking game out of it. If I win, I take a shot, if you win, you take a shot. And if I win three times in a row then...I’ll tell you what’s on my mind.” 

I liked the sound of this, and I felt a coy smirk curl into the corners of my mouth before I could stop it. “Oh? And if I win three in a row? What then?” I wasn’t trying to be sexual, I respected that she wasn’t in the mood, but I  _ was  _ feeling flirty, and I wanted her to pick up on the hint that I was more than a little interested in her romantically. 

Her smirk was mischievous and mirrored my own. “You pick, Zell.” I gingerly reached for her hand and brought it to my lips to kiss. 

“If I win three in a row, I get to take you on a date. No sex, no expectations, just me and you and a nice dinner. I’ll make you whatever you want, take you anywhere you want. Whatever will make you smile.”

Quistis’s smirk fell, and for a moment I worried that I had been too forward. I opened mouth to apologize, when the next thing I knew she was glued to my body. Her fingers wove into my hair, and she nibbled on the bottom of my lip as I opened my mouth to allow her access. I let her explore to her hearts content for a moment, wrestling her tongue as I very tenderly caressed her cheek with the back of my hand. “Zell...I...”

“I love you.” I blurted out, laying everything I had on the table all at once. My whole heart was beating in her hands, and it was up to her what became of me in that moment. I was tired of pretending. It had never been about sex for me, not since the first time. I wanted to be with  Quistis Trepe for the rest of my life. 

I was pulled abruptly from the memory as Rinoa waved her hands in front of my face. “Hello? Earth to Zell? You spaced out.” I blinked at her stupidly for a moment before I shook my head. She and Jack were both  lookin ’ at me like I’d sprouted a third eye or somethin’. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. I--” I was cut off as the building jerked suddenly, like we had crashed into something hard. I caught Rinoa in my arms as we were knocked off our feet, and we rolled a few times before my back slapped into the hard wall of Garden’s lobby with a force that could have broken my neck.  _ What the fuck was that???  _


	2. Quistis’s POV

My heart was pounding in my ears as the alarm vibrated the entire dirty Galbadian missile base. Selphie had set the bomb timer for ten minutes, which was almost undoable, and my hands wandered to the small bump that was barely visible through my clothes, but there nonetheless. I hadn’t bothered to tell Zell before we left…that I wanted to keep this baby, but now I guessed it might not matter now. Zell would have to live the rest of his life thinking I didn’t love what we created together, and it was eating my insides alive as we scrambled for something—anything to take shelter in.

My mind floated to the night we had found out I was expecting. My period had been late, and that prompted immediate panic, because I had been very regular ever since my first period at the grand old age of nine. Not once in those nine years had I _ever_ been late, not by a day. I knew before the two pink lines were even visible that I was pregnant, and I was destroyed by the news. I had just lost my teaching license, I already felt like I was losing any semblance of control I may have had over my life and knowing I had conceived a _student’s_ child was salt in the open wound. I should have never let myself fall in love with Zell, but that had always been my issue, hadn’t it? I was young and stupid and arrogant enough to think that the rules didn’t apply to me.

 _This is why you aren’t an instructor anymore._ I had thought glumly as I emptied every tear I had on Zell’s shoulder. His hands were gently rubbing and kneading my back, and I was curled tight against the warmth of his muscular chest. It hadn’t been until that moment, that I truly came to terms with how deeply in love with him I was. I had wanted more than casual sex for a while, but now? I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was the one for me. Even still, we were only seventeen and eighteen years old, and what were people going to say? His gentle voice in my ear pulled me from my thoughts. “It’s your body, Quisty. Anything you want to do, we’ll do.”

“Do you want this baby?” I whispered. I knew it was my decision, but I wanted his opinion all the same. The baby wasn’t mine alone. I felt Zell tense around me and he held me tighter as he pressed a small kiss to the crook of my neck.

“I do. But I don’t want that to sway your choice, this ain’t about me. So how about you think about it for a little while and get back to me, okay?” He pulled back a little to smile at me and he took my chin in his hand. “No matter what you choose, nothing between us is going to change. I promise.”

He had been so kind to me in that moment. Better to me than I thought I deserved, and yet I hadn’t said a word when Squall sent me on the missile base team. Why? Why did I endanger a child that I knew Zell wanted? That…I wanted? Wherever he was, he probably hated me, and I couldn’t a bit blame him. Selphie was shouting excitedly in the distance and the sound of her voice dragged me back to the present. The ground was littered with dead Galbadian Soldiers, and Selphie was poking around the shell of the BGH251F2 we had just shredded.

“C’mon, guys! In here!”

Irvine and I exchanged weary glances as we watched our manic friend crawl into the shattered tank. She was just a yellow spec, swallowed by the enormity of the machine. We didn’t really have time to argue with her and we bolted inside the weapon and slammed the hatch just as the bomb detonated around us. I screamed for Zell and wove my arms protectively around my middle as we were jerked around violently. My head slammed into the side of the wall with a deafening crack, and my vision immediately faded.

There was a long stretch of time where I couldn’t really discern what was real and what was dream. My body ached from the impact, and I couldn’t open my eyes. I was with Zell, even though I knew it to be an impossibility that my heart was longing for. His eyes were the most stunning shade of aquamarine I had ever known, and I admired them as he softly braided my long blonde hair out of my eyes. I could hear his voice clear as day in my mind and he felt so real that I could have sworn he was breathing against my lips. Maybe this was what heaven was like. Maybe I was dead. “Z-Zell. I’m so sorry.”

He shushed me, and his lips were inches from my own before he suddenly fizzled out of view. My heart sank. _No, come back to me, please._ I reached out my hands as far as they would stretch, and suddenly I heard his voice surround me once more. “Did you really think I’d ever leave you? I love you, Quistis. Both of you.”

I couldn’t see him, I couldn’t see anything, but I felt pressure on my abdomen, as if someone were laying there hand there. I chewed on my lip for a moment, fighting back tears that never came. “What if they’re dead? What if it’s my fault? What if…we are _both_ dead? I’m s-scared…I can’t f-feel anything.”

He didn’t answer me, but all of a sudden he was standing before me, an inch from my lips once more. He pressed them against my own, and my body filled with warmth. I wanted to run my finger through his gently spiked hair, I wanted to feel him and love on him back, but I couldn’t. He vanished once more as my eyes began to flutter open. It was…hot, and a harsh light was shining in from the outside as I squinted around the machine for Irvine and Selphie. “Z…Ze..ll?”

“What is up with you Quistis? This is the third time you’ve called his name since the explosion, and once was in your sleep.”

“Someone has a crush.” Irvine snickered back at Selphie, and I shot them both a death glare as I struggled to find the strength to sit. My hands were all over my stomach, and I unzipped my shirt to make sure there was no bruising. There wasn’t, but my nerves were shot, and I was terrified that our baby was hurt. _Please be alive._ Irvine suddenly jerked his hat down over his eyes as if to shield them and turned his back to me. “Put those things away would you! I know I’m a flirt but jeez.”

I knew my breasts were exposed now that I had unzipped my blouse, but I couldn’t have given a shit less, my child was more important. “Shut up.” I snapped. “We aren’t twelve anymore, you can see a pair of breasts and be an adult about it.”

Selphie clearly didn’t understand, and her green eyes seemed to glow in the sunlight as she furrowed her brow at me. “Hey, no need to bite his head off. What’s wrong with your stomach, are you injured?”

There was no sense in hiding it now. People were going to find out when I suddenly ballooned out like a marshmallow. “Zell and I…have been seeing one another for about eight months. We’re dating.” Selphie’s whole face scrunched into a pout, no doubt because I’d kept it from her, and I held up my hand to silence her. “I’m pregnant.”

The color drained from both my friend’s expressions and their eyes dropped to the tiny bump that was barely poking out between my hips. Irvine’s skin was tinted green, as if he were going to be sick, and Selphie twiddled with her fingers for a long moment. I knew neither of them knew what to say, and that I was fine. I didn’t need them to say anything. What I needed was to know that my baby was going to be okay. “You didn’t hit it.” Selphie finally said softly. “If that’s what you’re worried about. You hit your head pretty hard and we got you laid down. Your tummy never saw any action. I’m sure the baby is just fine.” She offered a small smile and I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

_Oh, thank god._ I didn’t have the chance to express my gratitude for that information. We had suddenly struck land, and Selphie squealed as she floundered around the controls. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she slapped her tiny fingers at as many buttons as she was able in a frantic attempt at getting the BGH251F2 to climb the embankment. “WOOHOO!” She slammed her fist into the right button, and the tank leapt forward with a speed we hadn’t anticipated.

We also hadn’t anticipated an immediate attack, either. None of us moved in the moments that followed our arrival in Fisherman’s Horizon. The BGH251F2 was firing on its own, Selphie had accidentally triggered its automated defense system. I took my first opportunity to leap from the machine when Squall’s Revolver tore a hole in its side, and the three of us stumbled into the steamy afternoon just in time. The Galbadian hunk of junk collapsed back into the ocean, and I quickly zipped my shirt back into place before I clamored to my feet.

“Quistis…” The smoke cleared, and I followed that perfect voice to my favorite pair of eyes. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, but his lips slowly twitched into an elated smile. His arms trembled wildly as he whooped and pumped them into the air, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, no matter how much joy was bursting from my body. I put my hands on my hips and smirked at him.

“Zell Dincht.”

Selphie and Irvine were trying not to stare and were explaining what happened to Squall and Rinoa, but it hardly registered in my brain. The only thing I could focus on was Zell, and the moment I brought my hands up to cradle my abdomen and smile at him, he lost it. Zell bolted toward me and I opened my arms eagerly as our bodies collided. I wove my arms tightly around his neck and he hoisted me effortlessly into his arms. I couldn’t keep my lips off of him, and I cried into the kiss as his scent flooded my nose. I was home, I was safe. I kissed him with every fiber of my being, and our tongues danced like it was their first meeting.

“A-Are you okay, is the…is—”

I shushed him and threaded my fingers in his stupid perfect hair as his hands fluttered around my belly like he was afraid it had disappeared. I pressed my hands against his own, and I looked up at him from underneath my eyelashes. “I’m fine, and so is our baby.”

The look on his face when I uttered the phrase “our baby” was priceless. He looked like hell, like he hadn’t slept in days, and I was so happy to see years come off his face as pure joy lit those beautiful teal eyes. “Our baby.” He repeated, resting his forehead against mine as he rubbed my abdomen tentatively. “You want to keep it?”

I took his face in my hands and I pressed another kiss to his lips. They were so soft, and I could have lived in that moment for the rest of my life. “I want this baby, and I want you.” I whispered.

“You already have me. You both do, forever.” Zell had wanted to keep the baby from the beginning, and he spun me around in his arms as I gently elbowed him in his ribs. He was making a scene in front of everyone, and I could feel Squall and Rinoa staring at us like we had sprouted a conjoined head. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” No amount of distance was going to keep us apart any longer, the cat was out of the bag.

Shelby Judith Dincht was born a small handful of months later, and she was the first little girl born in the Dincht family for an entire generation. Ma and Pa were as elated as we were, and I had never been more thankful for the life SeeD had given me. For the home, for the husband, for the daughter. The family. I would suffer any distance in the world, if it meant finding the road back to Zell Dincht in the end. Ultimecia was nothing, Laguna had been right. It was all love. Love was the strongest force in all of Gaia, and no one could ever convince me otherwise. 

**Author's Note:**

> Characters belong to Square Enix.


End file.
